Men's Rosary

Wealth and money, something most want.  Time, another commodity most want more of.  The paradox is the more money and wealth, stuff if you will, that we have; the less time we seem to have.  Perhaps we look at time in the incorrect perspective.  Unlike wealth, time is to be used and not possessed.  Wealth and money is worked for and stored up and protected so it will grow and increase and be there for a later date.  Time is pure gift, not earned and impossible to store up.  Time is for the moment and can not be saved for later use.  We can place a day’s wages in the bank and it will be there years from now.  The hours of a day are gone at day’s end never to be seen again!  While we must be prudent to provide stability for ourselves and our families from a financial perspective, the focus must be on the spiritual wealth and stability, for that is the only thing that truly matters.  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

This makes it imperative to assess how we make use of time – every day.  Wealth and money are acquired at the expense of time.  Time is consumed to create and store up material wealth.  Unfortunately, it is usually disproportionate to time given to build up treasure in heaven.  The only wealth that matters is spiritual wealth and little is given to accumulating it – the wealth that never fades.  Attention is given to the wealth that eventually becomes meaningless. “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” (Proverbs 11:4) We must use our time well to build our spiritual muscle and health.  The time we have been blessed with during the day needs also to be allotted to prayer, fasting, study and good works.  Just as if we do not give time to exercise we will not be physically strong, so too with matters of faith.  Time not given to these will find us spiritually weak.  “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:7-8) While we are compelled to give time to the world, given we live in the world, we must take caution where we spend the time outside of our worldly vocation.  When we have time away from work are we spending it wisely?  What are we reading, listening to, doing?  Who are we spending time with?  What are we giving that time to? 

It is important to spend time learning, sitting with Scripture, and praying. “So faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) Beware of giving this time to endless scrolling on the internet, television, idle talk and all the other things that will suck in and waste precious time and leave us wanting.  We do not waste time in matters of making money, why waste time in matters of growing in faith and sanctity of soul?  As we are called to share our material wealth, gained at the expense of time, so we are called to share the greatest and most precious gift given to us – time.  We must spend some of the time in service to others.  Charitable works are congruent with a life in Christ.  Loving and serving others is how we love and serve God and share Christ’s love to the world.  “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?  Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:17-18)

The bottom line is that even though we are all born into different families, different socio-economic situations, differing skills and talents – we are all given the same amount of time each day.  How are we going to spend it.  We will be called to answer for our stewardship of time and how we have lived.  The judgement will be sure and just. “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until judgement; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgement, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.” (2 Peter 2:4-10) May we choose to spend time on the things that matter most.  May we grow in knowledge and love of God and serve our neighbors well.  It is true that the world will judge a man by the wealth he has established and the worse that could be is that he is broke.  God will judge us by our growth in love of him and how we have loved others.  The worse that could be is damnation.  Choose wisely.

“Oh, how precious time is!  Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it.”  (St. Padre Pio)